azmalu

(new user that tried this before knowing enough surprise surprise) I installed gauges from pro car parts and my main problem is because I took the needle of the calibration is off!!! How can I possibly fix that. Also which harness is the dimmer wire in that I need to tap into? I didnt pull of the temp gas gauge so thats fine but the speedometer gauge starts at 15mph and the rpm gauge doesnt work at all. PLEASE HELP I know someone has had to have done the same thing right?!?!?

Sudesh

I don't believe any of the gauges procarparts.com sells require the needles to be removed. The gauges slip over the needles.

Recalibration is going to be pretty hard, I'd say you either have to pay to have it done, or buy a new gauge cluster.

For now, here's my theory on a temporary solution.

Take out the gauge cluster. Take off the speedometer and tachometer needles once again. Leave the needles off, and connect the wires back to the gauge cluster. Start the car and leave it running. Now insert the speedometer needle so that it's pointing to Zero. For the tachometer, you will have to remember where your car used to idle before you messed with the needles. If it was idling at 800, insert the tachometer needle so that it's pointing to 800. That should do it.

As for dimming the procarparts gauges, it should have a built in feature to dim it, no need to tap into the dimmer switch. Even if it doesn't have it's own built in dimmer, I wouldn't mess with the dimmer switch before more things go wrong.

JDM4LIFE

iTrader: (2)

i also need to STRONGLY urge you to have a professional recalibrate the gauges. trust me, i thought i could do it properly myself. that's why i had to buy another gauge cluster for my 98 max and am scared $#!tless to try to install my indiglos again. i also found out afterwards that if you take the little cover/clip thing that sits over the needle you can slide the stock gauges off. anyhoo, you should reallllly just not tough your gauges and take it to a body shop or another business that can do it and leave it to them. it'll definitely save money in the long run.

Sudesh

Actually recalibration can be easy if you have the tools. If you can read the rpm and speed from the ecu its easy to just pull out the needles and set them back to the positions (like how i stated to do before). The directions i gave before should do it pretty well, except the tach may be a little off.

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

actually recalibration is easier than that. for the tach, pull that pin out that the needle rest on then let the needle drop. make the needle be able parallel with the / part of the x (RPMx1000) and for the speedo, go down the highway and set your cruise at 60 mph, get a stop watch and time yourself at a mile marker. Next mile marker you hit should be 60 seconds on the stop watch. If it's faster or slower just adjust accordingly. I think on my cars 90 se and 91 gxe the speedo and tach needles pointed generally in the same direction when not on the needle stopers. if you go to pull the needles out again make sure you don't pull them directly off or you will ruin the guage motor. you have to spin the needles counter clockwise (like undoing a screw) and gently pull while doing so and it will come off. then when putting them back on slip them on the metal thing and apply a little bit of pressure to put them on, just enough for them to go on all of the way. then just calibrate them like i said above.

«§»Craig B«§»

iTrader: (5)

that'd work great if the cruise kept the car at exactly 60.0 mph for the whole time and the road was perfectly level

I'm not sure about the mile markers around you, but around here, we have one for each mile (ie you see mile marker 39, in another mile, you will see #40, then one mile later #41, and so on).
so each mile takes one minute or 60 seconds

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

oops, yeah 60 seconds.

azmalu

thanks everyone for suggestions but this damn email got sent to my junk mail folder. Earlier today I purchased instrument cluster for 65 with less miles that what I had before. Now I know how to do it without pulling off needles. lol The question in regards to dimmer was that I need to tap into power wire and that wire is the best choice as stated by others in max forums because that way it is not on a always on power source but rather on a power source that turns on only when the car lights are on (night time)

Sudesh

So basically you just want to wire your indiglo gauges so that they come on when you turn your lights on and come off when you turn your lights off? Right in back of the gauge cluster is the power wire for the bulbs in the gauge cluster, i don't remember exactly which one it is, but you can splice into it and power the indiglo gauges from there.

azmalu

Right I was reading other post and they say the best way to it is tap into the red black wire in the dimmer harness that way it is not always on and draining battery. Instead it on only when you turn on your dash lights.

Sudesh

Hey, i just wanted to mention that you should take off your odometer from your old gauge cluster and put it on this new gauge cluster you got. When you go for an inspection, they record the odometer reading, you don't want anything to be fishy. You'll can also have problems if you try to sell the car.

if you feel the dimmier wire is the best source then go for it.

azmalu

sudesh I was looking for dimmer wire because that is what I have heard suggested but I will try both i dont think it will make a difference though. Does anyone have a digram or link to bulbs part numbers for headlight corner light dome light courtesy lights etc. I have bought some of the Polarg bulbs from custom maxima but Im curios how it compares to the PIAA extreme and super white bulbs. In particular the 9004 bulb is the correct headlight bulb for 3rd gen right? aka h3 ..............Am i the only one that finds this appealing? Try this link http://www.importintelligence.com/FM...stID=USA&-Edit For those who painted interior is there a certain brand or type of paint you prefer. I was thinking of using something liek this but it seems like it will get pretty costly if done right at 15 bucks a can. http://www.streetbeatonline.com/incarspray.html

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

your link doesn't work but are you talking about these?

MienMaxima

Hi, I just had this happen to me as well. Except I was trying to remove some aftermarket gauges instead of installing them. However, I was fortunate that only the needles of the temp gauge and the fuel gauge came off. I must have not paid attention when I was putting the temp gauge back on cause after i put everything back together, I noticed that the temp gauge went all the way to the half point mark just on start up alone. After driving for just a few minutes, it would already max out.

I was thinking of trying out the above method, but had a few questions. After I turn on the car or start it, does it matter how much pressure (push hard on the needle) I apply? I read somewhere that it is very senstive to how far the needle gets pressed back in. For now, it seems that the temp gauge is the most messed up between the two. The fuel tank seems to be fine however. Mine is a 98 maxima se btw. I know this is an old thread, but any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Niccos89

iTrader: (2)

I did this, the way I fixed it, was took both gauges out, put the tacho needle as high as possible....on the correct one, the needle would stop between the P + M where it says RPM (I think it was here, but anyhow, you get the picture), the incorrect one rested further down...so I kept pushing the incorrect one beyond its opposite limit (below zero) until they rested at the same spot...then tested both gauges by going for a drive at varios set speeds, and making sure the RPMs registered the same.

It took me about half an hour of swearing and frustration.
Normally I would just ditch it and buy a new one, but these were white-faced gauges not available in Australia.